Original Articles

  • CalHHS Secretary Extends Mask Mandate to Mid-February

    Mark Ghaly, M.D., MPH, California Health & Human Services Agency (CalHHS) secretary, has extended California’s indoor mask mandate by another full month. The masking requirement intended to combat the coronavirus pandemic now runs through February 15. While citing a recent surge in the state’s positivity rate to over 21 percent, Ghaly also noted data on […]

  • Fed-OSHA seeks suggestions for strengthening VPP

    Fed-OSHA is holding a stakeholder meeting July 17, in Washington, D.C., to discuss the future direction of its Voluntary Protection Programs. The agency’s aim is to “reshape VPP so that it continues to represent safety and health excellence, leverages partner resources, further recognizes the successes of long-term participants, and supports smart program growth.” Fed-OSHA is […]

Curated Content Articles of Interest from Around the Web

    Norcal Loses its Only BOI Investigator

    Alfaro resigns as senior investigator at BOI

    • Cal/OSHA’s Bureau of Investigations (BOI) will have no personnel in Northern California following the resignation of Julio Alfaro, a senior investigator who was the lone BOI representative in the north state. Alfaro accepted a position outside of state government effective today.
    • BOI, mandated by the California Labor Code, is responsible for criminal investigations involving workplace fatalities and serious injuries. It makes referrals to local prosecuting authorities.
    • Alfaro’s resignation follows the resignation, last year, of Chris Kuhns, a 14-year veteran who left, he says, after being denied an opportunity to become a compliance safety and health officer at the Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
    • Alfaro, who has spent ten years at BOI and 18 at the Department of Industrial Relations, also describes being denied upward mobility at the Division. He says the pay at the Bureau is some 40% less than that of a DOSH associate safety engineer.
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    Amazon is making progress with injuries

    • After scrutiny from federal investigators, Amazon has reduced its workplace injuries.
    • The company’s 2-23 recordable incident rate, which includes any work-related injury that requires more than basic first-aid treatment, has improved 30% over the past four years and 8% year-over-year (YoY).
    • Amazon’s lost time incident rate, including any work-related injury that requires someone to take time away from work, has improved 60% over the past four years and 16% year-over-year.
    • In the U.S., Amazon reports operations data to OSHA under two distinct industries: General Warehousing and Storage, and Courier and Express Delivery Services.
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    Finishing company faces fines after worker’s death

    • An OSHA investigation determined a Valencia, Pennsylvania, finishing company could have prevented a 46-year-old supervisor from suffering fatal injuries in September 2023 by following required safety standards.
    • Investigators opened a fatality investigation against Vorteq Coil Finishers LLC and determined the employee was instructed to clean a chrome roller on a coater machine while in operation. The employee was pulled into the machine and suffered fatal injuries.
    • OSHA cited the company for two willful and two serious violations based, in part, for failing to implement lockout/tagout procedures and not installing machine guarding.
    • The agency has also proposed $345,685 in penalties. In addition, OSHA has placed the company in the agency’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program.
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    Brooklyn tobacco shop being probed

    • OSHA is investigating a Brooklyn tobacco sweatshop that produces “grabba” sold in local bodegas and smoke shops.
    • Several migrant Ecuadorian women who work at the factory alleged enduring illness, from dizziness and fainting to fatigue and nausea, processing tobacco leaves for HotHead Grabba LLC.
    • One said she experienced a urinary tract infection after being unable to take bathroom breaks for hours on end.
    • At least one worker submitted a complaint to OSHA, which triggered the probe by the federal safety agency. Multiple workers also submitted complaints to the state Department of Labor last month alleging that they work 13 hours a day, six days a week for the equivalent of $8 an hour, which is half of New York’s $16 hourly minimum wage.
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